François Dollier de Casson

Dollier de Casson, François (fräNswäˈ dôlyāˈ də käsôNˈ) [key], 1636–1701, priest and explorer in Canada, b. near Nantes, France. In 1657 he entered the seminary of Saint-Sulpice, Paris, and in 1666 he went as a missionary to Canada. With Father Galinée he set forth (1669) in La Salle's company, bound for the Ohio-Mississippi country, where the two priests planned to carry on missionary activities among the Western tribes. At Lake Ontario they parted from La Salle and went W to Lake Erie; on its north shore they wintered (1669–70), claiming the land in the name of Louis XIV. Prevented by a series of misfortunes from continuing their missionary travels, they decided to go on to Sault Ste Marie and return to Montreal by way of the Ottawa River. In 1671, Dollier de Casson became superior of the seminary at Montreal and later was vicar general of the diocese of Quebec. His history of Montreal from 1640 to 1672 was published in 1868; it was translated into English (1928) by Ralph Flenley, who added a biography.